The arrangements were soon made. Before starting on the descent
O'Connor said to the men: "We wish to take the fellows who are hiding
down there alive if possible. They are the gang of the fellow known as
the 'Red Captain,' and have committed a score of murders; but if it is
absolutely necessary you will of course fire. There is one man among
them who is there on compulsion, and is less guilty than the rest. He
is a fair-haired man, and I should think you would notice the difference
between him and the others. Whatever resistance they make it is not
probable that he will join in it.
"At any rate, do not fire at him unless it is absolutely necessary to
save your own lives. Now see to your priming before we start, and fix
bayonets. Mind how you climb over these rocks, because if any of you
fall, your musket may go off and shoot someone in front of you.
Wherever it is possible scatter out abreast of each other, so as to
prevent the possibility of accident. Now, then, march!"
Leading the way, Captain O'Connor descended the little track. It
extended but a short distance. Beyond that a chaos of fallen rocks--the
remains of an old landslip--stretched away to the shore.
"There is no working along this side-ways, Desmond," Captain O'Connor
said, after they had climbed along for some little distance. "We had
better make straight down to the shore, follow that for a bit, and then
mount again to the spot where you saw the man."
It was difficult work, but at last the party reached the shore.
Lieutenant Adcock, who was in command of the boat, had watched the party
making their way down the rocks, and now rowed in to within a few yards
of them.
"Good morning, lieutenant!" Captain O'Connor said. "I think we have got
them fairly trapped; but doubtless they would have made off if they
hadn't seen you on the watch outside. It's that notorious scoundrel the
Red Captain of Galway who is, I hear, hiding here with his gang."
"Indeed!" the revenue-officer said; "that will be a capture worth
making. Shall I come ashore with four of my men? I expect they are
more accustomed to climbing about among the rocks than yours are, and I
should like to lend a hand."
"Do, by all means," Captain O'Connor replied. "I see you have got ten,
and six will be quite enough in the boat, even if they do manage to get
down and embark, which I don't think they will. Your men are all armed,
I suppose?"
"Yes; they have all carbines and cutlasses. Now, coxswain, I leave you
in charge. Row out a quarter of a mile, and if any boat pushes off you
are to stop it and arrest all on board. They will almost certainly
resist, and in that case you must use your arms. Now, the four bow-oars
get out and step ashore."